MALTA, N.Y. – Mike Mahaney won his second DIRTcar modified feature of the season Friday night at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

The scene was far from joyful, as the motor in his George Huttig-owned No. 35 expired in the final turn, nearly passing the win to a rapidly closing Peter Britten, who had dropped back in the pack and then came alive when the bottom groove came in.

The blown engine was Mahaney’s second of the week, having lost the engine in his primary car at Wednesday’s Eldora Speedway Super DIRTcar Series round and being forced to run his spare car, which he then used at Albany-Saratoga.

Bobby Hackel IV was third in the 35-lapper ahead of Keith Flach and Kenny Tremont Jr.  The second five consisted of Matt DeLorenzo, Marc Johnson, Rocky Warner, Ronnie Johnson and rookie Chris Johnson.

Polesitter Elmo Reckner led lap one, then lost his advantage when front row companion C.G. Morey went around in turn one, taking the side off Jack Lehner’s mount and scrambling the field. That set the tone for the night, with Neil Stratton then pulling a bump and run to dispose of Reckner. By then the sixth starting Britten was third and diving low on restarts trying to edge by the rim riders.

Lap six saw Brett Hearn pull up with a flat and the leader, Stratton, stop on the backstretch at the same time for yet another yellow, leaving Britten in command.  But Jessey Mueller soon sailed around him and drove off, only to pull up with a flat as well. This put Britten back on top but Mahaney shot by him on lap nine and by halfway was deep in the tailenders.

By then, Britten had dropped to sixth as the rim riders kept driving around him and he was still there with five to go.  But suddenly, the bottom groove came alive and the popular Australian began mowing down the cars ahead of him and nearly won the race.

“This is our last big block motor,” said Mahaney in victory lane. “We just spent fifteen grand to win $2,000. It’s nice to put on a great show for the fans but I feel terrible. Now we’re down to one small block that we run at Airborne Speedway in another car.”

In Pro Stock action, Luke Horning led Jason Corbin, Nick Arnold and Brandon Emigh to the flag in a proverbial “under a blanket” finish.  Scott Deuel passed race long leader Marty Kelly with the checkers in sight to claim the Sportsman win, with Kyle Groff, Tim Hartman Jr and seventh grader to be Derrick McGrew Jr. trailing.

KENT, Wash. – Bob Tasca raced to the provisional No. 1 spot in Funny Car to lead the way on Friday during the Magic Dry Organic Absorbent NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

Mike Salinas (Top Fuel) and Jeg Coughlin Jr. (Pro Stock) are also provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective categories at the 16th of 24 races during the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. The event is also the final of three races during the NHRA’s Western Swing.

Tasca, who has two wins this season, powered to a career-best run of 3.871 seconds at 330.63 mph in his Ford Performance/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Shelby Mustang to take the provisional top spot. It marks Tasca’s first run of more than 330 mph. If it holds, it would be Tasca’s first No. 1 qualifier of 2019 and fourth in his career.

Defending world champ J.R. Todd is currently in second, while Matt Hagan is third.

“This is a set-up we’re really starting to dial in, and we kind of felt the 330-plus mph run and mid-3.80 run building,” Tasca said. “I’m just excited and humbled to be the behind of the wheel of this thing. This is a brand new body we needed to learn, and you just saw it come together tonight and put us in position to win on Sunday. At this point in the season you’re battle-tested and it’s all hands on deck. There’s a lot of hard work paying off and that’s what I’m most proud of, and this Mustang keeps getting stronger and stronger.”

Top Fuel’s Salinas drove his Scrappers Racing dragster to an impressive 3.694-second pass at 327.66 ph. It would give Salinas, who has two wins in 2019, his fourth No. 1 qualifier this year and fifth in his career if it holds. Brittany Force is currently second, while points leader and defending world champ Steve Torrence is third.

In Pro Stock, Coughlin went 6.539 seconds at 210.57 mph to take the No. 1 spot in his JEGS.com Chevrolet Camaro. Coughlin is aiming for his first top qualifier of the year and 30th in his career.

His Elite Motorsports teammates are in the next two spots, as Alex Laughlin, the runner-up last weekend in Sonoma, is second and Erica Enders sits third. Greg Anderson, who is trying to sweep the Western Swing, is sixth.

Argentina's Lionel Messi was banned for three months from international matches and fined $50,000 on Friday after accusing South America's governing body for football of "corruption" during the Copa America.

Messi criticised the officiating and members of CONMEBOL last month following Argentina's semifinal loss to Brazil and after the third-place match against Chile, but later apologised for his statements.

CONMEBOL has given Messi and the Argentine Football Association seven days to appeal the sanctions.

Argentina are due to face Chile in a friendly match in Los Angeles on Sept. 5, followed by another friendly with Mexico in San Antonio five days later.

Messi, who is due to return Nov. 3, will also miss the friendly against host Germany on Oct. 9 in Dortmund.

Messi is already suspended from the first match of the South American World Cup qualifiers in March because of the red card he received against Chile in an incident with Gary Medel.

Neither Messi nor Argentina's soccer association have made comments about CONMEBOL's decisions.

Messi avoided the Copa America medal ceremony in protest and later said Argentina "shouldn't take part in this corruption."

The 32-year-old also said the tournament was set up for hosts Brazil to win and had complained about Copa America refereeing after Argentina's 2-0 loss to Brazil in the semifinals.

When asked if he feared being suspended for his comments, he said "the truth needed to be told."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

When asked directly about his relationship with Jurgen Klopp at the end of last season, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola spoke of a "beautiful rivalry" between himself and the Liverpool manager.

It was forged during their time as rivals in Germany, with Guardiola's Bayern Munich consistently topping Klopp's Borussia Dortmund, and the battle for supremacy is now fully alive again in the Premier League. Last season, Guardiola and City claimed domestic superiority only for Klopp and Liverpool to claim the biggest prize of all by winning the Champions League.

- Man City vs. Liverpool: When is the Community Shield?
- Liverpool vs. Chelsea: When is the UEFA Super Cup?

So far, so beautiful.

Guardiola and Klopp have built two of the most exciting, bold and formidable teams seen in Europe over the past 20 years, and their renewed rivalry in England has been defined by what each has won, rather than any bad blood or hostility that has emerged between them. But can it continue to be civil and respectful when the focus of attention becomes locked on the two men and their two teams all season long?

The Community Shield clash at Wembley (Sunday, Aug. 4, live on ESPN+ at 10 a.m. ET) will offer a pointer towards what lies ahead. It may only be a "friendly" but this curtain-raiser for the new season will have much more intensity than in the past. While both Klopp and Guardiola will likely say that it means nothing, the opportunity to strike an early psychological blow will mean everything.

There are some fine coaches in the Premier League -- Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino is tipped by many as the next super-coach, while Unai Emery at Arsenal may yet replicate the success he has already enjoyed at Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain. But Guardiola and Klopp are the two dominant forces in English football right now. They are like the Godfathers of rival families, with unswerving devotion and loyalty from their players and their club's supporters. For this reason, and the razor-thin gap between them, it will surely be impossible for their "beautiful rivalry" to remain untarnished by the battles ahead.

Since the Premier League began in 1992-93, there have been numerous managerial subplots between the leading coaches of the era. Sir Alex Ferguson emerged on top in his personal battles with Blackburn's Kenny Dalglish and Newcastle's Kevin Keegan, before the arrival of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal in 1996 sparked a rivalry that, at its height, dominated English football for almost a decade as Manchester United and Arsenal fought for every title.

Jose Mourinho came along as the new kid on the block in 2004, proclaiming himself to be the "Special One" at Chelsea before engaging in a bitter feud with Wenger and a less volatile, but still competitive, battle of wills with Ferguson.

The much-anticipated Mourinho vs. Guardiola faceoff in Manchester failed to reignite to anything close to the levels of antipathy which marred their time as coaches of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but Guardiola vs. Klopp has now become the headline attraction. And it will only intensify this season, with both coaches desperate to win what the other managed last season. The only concern is that it goes the way of Ferguson-Wenger as the personal battle overshadows that of the clubs.

"There is no personal animosity between the two of them," a source who has worked closely with Klopp told ESPN FC. "They are very different characters as people, but as coaches, they are just as driven and intense as the other, which might surprise those who think that Jurgen is more relaxed and carefree than Pep.

"There is a great deal of mutual respect, but they are their own men, and I don't think they'd have much in common away from the game if they were to bump into each other in a bar."

Just as it was at the height of the Ferguson-Wenger rivalry during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the presence of a rival is helping drive Guardiola and Klopp's teams on to new levels of consistency and achievement. Liverpool pushed City all the way to the Premier League title last season, ending the campaign with 97 points having lost just once in the league (to City), and the intensity of that pursuit coincided with their surge to the Champions League final for the second successive year. While they put together a run to win their last nine games in the league, City managed an incredible 14 to pip them to glory. However, having lost to Real Madrid in Kiev 12 months earlier, Liverpool's victory against Tottenham in Madrid ended Klopp's wait for a trophy at Anfield, almost four years after arriving as Brendan Rodgers' successor.

The Champions League triumph will have given Klopp and Liverpool fresh belief that it can be the start of a new period of success at Anfield, but it may also have reminded Guardiola of the one trophy to elude him at City: the one, above all others, that the club's Abu Dhabi owners hired him to win.

"It's massive," City defender Kyle Walker told ESPN FC, when asked about the importance of winning the Champions League. "I feel to take this club to the level that it wants to be at, a Champions League title is needed. For the level of players that we've got and the manager, we need to go and win that Champions League."

City's focus on the Champions League -- and at the same time, Guardiola's -- could be the key that unlocks the door to the Premier League title for Liverpool.

If City make the Champions League their No. 1 priority, the distraction could play in Liverpool's favour. But Klopp has his own issues to cope with early on as the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Alisson all missed preseason due to international commitments this summer.

- Premier League fixtures 2019-20 in full
- Who has qualified for Europe from the Premier League?

For Klopp, it is all about how Liverpool start the season. Once the ball is rolling, anything can happen.

"I would be happy if we start at the similar level to last year [six wins from six league games]," he said. "That would not be bad. There is space for improvement. It is easy to plan what you want to improve in the office, but then you miss three players or four others are not there and it becomes a theoretical part of football, and you have to throw the plans in the bin so often.

"Stability, consistency, fighting for results. It is all important. Consistency on a high level is most important. If we can do that again, it can be annoying playing against us, and we must come again so they think when they play Liverpool or go to Anfield it is not fun. Last year was good and obviously we have not changed much. The boys should be there again to make the next step."

Yet City remain the team to be beat. Last season's domestic treble emphasised their grip on English football, and despite the threat from Liverpool and others, defender John Stones insists it is all in City's hands.

"I think from the outside, you can say maybe it's a two-horse race, but from where we're stood, we want to go into it and better ourselves from last season," Stones told ESPN FC.

"We've obviously put a benchmark down the past two seasons in where we've been and where we've been at certain stages in the season. But I think it's just about us concentrating on ourselves."

It may be three weeks later, but the sting of India's World Cup semi-final exit has been a tough pill to swallow for India captain Virat Kohli. Speaking in Florida on the eve of his team's first T20I against West Indies, Kohli said the initial days after his side's loss to New Zealand in Manchester were difficult to get over, but they are now focused on early preparation for the next major world event, the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia.

"The first few days after we exited the World Cup were quite difficult," Kohli said. "Till the time the tournament got over, every time we woke up it was the worst feeling in the morning. Then through the day you do things and sort of get on with your life. We are professionals. We move ahead. Every team has to move on.

"So we are quite okay with what happened in the World Cup. Yesterday the fielding session and the little bit of time we spent on the field was really good. Everyone was excited, looking forward to just playing, just being on the field again. I think that's the best thing you can do as a team, just get on the park as soon as possible."

As part of planning for the T20 World Cup next year, fresher faces are emerging in the India squad, including Rishabh Pant. With MS Dhoni absent from this tour, Kohli identified Pant as a player who now has an opportunity to gain experience and push to cement his place building up to the T20 World Cup.

"It's a great opportunity for someone like Rishabh Pant to really play a lot of international cricket, show his credentials, really unleash his potential at this stage," Kohli said. "We know how much ability he has and we all want him to become a consistent performer for the Indian cricket team. MS's experience is always going to be a very crucial factor but having said that some of these younger guys have a great opportunity ahead of them and they should just look forward to it."

Only six players - Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - remain from the India squad that came to Florida three years ago for their first T20I on American soil, a thrilling one-run loss to West Indies. Rain in Lauderhill limited India to only an outfield session on Thursday, and no training at all on Friday. But Kohli is hoping his batsmen can prosper at what has been a high-scoring venue in recent years.

"I think the covers look the same," Kohli joked about what he remembers from his previous visit. "We haven't seen the pitch, we haven't seen anything apart from the covers on the pitch. When we play tomorrow, we can assess how the pitch has come along. Even last time we played, it was pretty good, high-scoring, and we all had a lot of fun playing here, and this time is going to be no different."

The absence of the likes of Dhoni and Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested from this tour, has made a marginal dent in ticket sales, with neither match sold out yet whereas the first match from 2016 sold out in rapid time. But Kohli hopes repeat visits to the USA might help spur greater interest not just locally, in one of the ICC's target markets for expansion, but also globally.

"For now I think it's all about creating that buzz and just getting people in to watch the games," Kohli said. "The more we come here and play, obviously the game is going to get more and more buzz around it, people are going to talk about it. You see 15,000-20,000 people going to a place to watch something, obviously it should be important. Hopefully in years to come, people will have more interest. Local people in America as well, not just the Asian community or the West Indian community but the whole community in general will have more interest in the sport.

"I think T20 cricket is something that can be understood and accepted in the American culture because of the length of the game and it's quite entertaining as well. So I think for the sport to become global in many ways, a lot of interest here will go a long way in achieving that for the sport. Hopefully in years to come, we'll have more tournaments and more series here where people just come in and start understanding the sport and just having fun like they do in any other sporting event here."

Argentina's Lionel Messi was banned for three months from international matches and fined $50,000 on Friday after accusing South America's governing body for football of "corruption" during the Copa America.

Messi criticised the officiating and members of CONMEBOL last month following Argentina's semifinal loss to Brazil and after the third-place match against Chile, but later apologised for his statements.

CONMEBOL has given Messi and the Argentine Football Association seven days to appeal the sanctions.

Argentina are due to face Chile in a friendly match in Los Angeles on Sept. 5, followed by another friendly with Mexico in San Antonio five days later.

Messi, who is due to return Nov. 3, will also miss the friendly against host Germany on Oct. 9 in Dortmund.

Messi is already suspended from the first match of the South American World Cup qualifiers in March because of the red card he received against Chile in an incident with Gary Medel.

Neither Messi nor Argentina's soccer association have made comments about CONMEBOL's decisions.

Messi avoided the Copa America medal ceremony in protest and later said Argentina "shouldn't take part in this corruption."

The 32-year-old also said the tournament was set up for hosts Brazil to win and had complained about Copa America refereeing after Argentina's 2-0 loss to Brazil in the semifinals.

When asked if he feared being suspended for his comments, he said "the truth needed to be told."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer encouraged troubled staff member Zach Smith to stay with the Buckeyes in January 2018 when Smith was offered a coaching position at Alabama, according to a text message exchange released by the university Friday afternoon.

Meyer fired Smith roughly six months later after reports about Smith's volatile and allegedly abusive relationship with his ex-wife became the final straw in a career marked by behavioral issues for the younger assistant. Ohio State investigated Meyer shortly after Smith's firing and suspended him for mishandling previous issues with Smith and for misleading the media when he was asked about Smith's conduct. Meyer retired after the 2018 season.

On Friday, more than 11 months after the university concluded its investigation, Ohio State released to the public more than 2,000 pages of documents that were reviewed by investigators as part of the probe into Meyer. Among the text messages and emails was one conversation during which Meyer told Smith in January 2018 that they "got u thru the s---" and that he wanted Smith to stay on staff in Columbus, Ohio. Smith, according to the text messages, was offered a position as passing coordinator on the Alabama staff.

"I have personally invested far too much in u to get u in position to take next step," Meyer wrote. "U need to step away from other situation and let's go win it all... again."

Meyer hired Smith on his staffs at Florida and Ohio State. Smith is the grandson of former Ohio State head coach Earle Bruce, whom Meyer considered a father figure and mentor. Meyer said his connection with Bruce clouded his judgment when it came to dealing with Smith's past behavior.

Police in Florida investigated domestic violence claims made by Smith's former wife in 2009, when Smith worked for Meyer's Florida team. Police also investigated claims of domestic abuse against Smith made in Columbus in 2015. He was not charged with a crime in either instance. Smith was charged with criminal trespassing after another dispute with his then-ex-wife in May 2018. He pleaded to a misdemeanor in that case last fall.

Meyer told reporters last summer that he wasn't aware of the 2015 incident. He told co-workers around the same time that he knew about "2009 and last week," but knew "nothing" about a reported felony arrest of Smith in 2015. Emails and human-resource records show Smith was encouraged to enroll in an employee assistance program in October 2015, and Meyer asked a fellow staffer to make sure Smith followed through with the program. Smith said Meyer was aware of the 2015 incident, and Meyer later apologized for misleading reporters with how he answered questions about that incident.

On July 23, 2018, as reports of Smith's most recent encounter with police became public, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith suggested to Meyer via text that they should take a more "institutionally formal" approach in trying to work with Zach Smith through the employee assistance program. Meyer announced his decision to fire Smith later that same day. Gene Smith was also suspended by the university for how he handled the situation.

Meyer texted both his agent and a close adviser the day after he fired Smith to tell them that Smith was being fired for "cumulative" reasons. He told both men that he did not intend to share that part of the story with the media.

Shortly after speaking with reporters about Smith's ouster, Meyer told Tim Kight -- an author and adviser -- that the situation was "a mess" and he "will not address the situation again." He told Kight that he "never heard of anything" regarding an arrest in 2015.

"I understand that [Smith's ex-wife]'s lawyer is releasing stuff," Meyer said. "Scary."

Ohio State's investigation of the issue revealed that while an employee with the football program, Smith was known to have exhibited "promiscuous and embarrassing sexual behavior, drug abuse, truancy, dishonesty, financial irresponsibility, a possible NCAA violation, and a lengthy police investigation into allegations of criminal domestic violence and cybercrimes."

Several text message exchanges released Friday show Meyer's trust in Smith had eroded in December 2017. He told one staff member to "keep [an] eye on Zach" on Dec. 24 that year. A staff member told Meyer a few weeks earlier of Smith that he "ripped his ass yesterday morning so he knows I'm all over him."

One month later, Meyer told Smith he wanted him to stay at Ohio State rather than accept a new position elsewhere.

What are the best NBA Christmas Day games this year?

The 2019 slate will feature plenty of star power and revamped rosters, including Anthony Davis and LeBron James vs. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The five games:

• Los Angeles Lakers vs. LA Clippers

• Houston Rockets @ Golden State Warriors

• Milwaukee Bucks @ Philadelphia 76ers

• Boston Celtics @ Toronto Raptors

• New Orleans Pelicans @ Denver Nuggets

Our NBA experts answer the big questions about the five matchups, identify the biggest surprises and make bold predictions about the games and the teams involved.

Which Christmas Day game are you most excited to watch?

Tim Bontemps: Bucks-Sixers -- and, to me, it isn't close. While the Western Conference next season is going to be a dogfight, Milwaukee and Philadelphia are the massive favorites to finish atop the East. They appear destined for a showdown in the conference finals. Combine that with the fact that both teams have young superstars (Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, and Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons in Philadelphia) who could be playing against one another for years to come, and this could be the start of an annual Christmas tradition. Sign me up for that.

Bobby Marks: Pelicans-Nuggets. Understandably, everyone will be focused on Los Angeles, but I am taking one of the best teams in the West (Denver) versus Zion Williamson and a New Orleans squad that could contend for one of the final playoff spots.

Malika Andrews: The Battle of Los Angeles. This could be the first time we see the new-look Clippers take on the AD/LeBron Lakers. Just one game likely won't dictate if the Clippers can become the new kings of L.A., but it will be fun nonetheless.

Kevin Pelton: Bucks-Sixers. Obviously, all eyes will be on the Staples Center co-tenants who will square off against each other. Given the depth of contenders in the West, however, I think it's more likely that Milwaukee and Philadelphia will be a preview of a playoff series -- specifically, the most likely outcome for the conference finals at this point. These teams played a thriller in April on TNT won by the host 76ers, but the Raptors denied us a meeting in last year's playoffs, so we haven't seen them square off since.

Which of the 10 teams are you most surprised to see included?

Marks: Toronto. Despite winning the NBA championship last year, the inclusion of the Raptors feels a year late and almost like a makeup for previous Christmas Day omissions. Toronto should be a playoff team if the roster stays intact but certainly not one of the top 10 teams in the NBA -- let alone top four in the East.

Pelton: Denver. The Pelicans are the odd team out, as they're more likely to miss the playoffs than make them, according to Caesars Sportsbook. But we've seen star draft picks like Zion Williamson featured on the Christmas Day slate before. The first meeting between Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, for example, was scheduled for Christmas Day before Oden underwent season-ending microfracture knee surgery. Despite finishing second in the West during the 2018-19 regular season, I'm still a little surprised the Nuggets are being highlighted given their relatively small national footprint. This is clearly a bet Denver can maintain its lofty standing in a deeper West and on Nikola Jokic as a budding superstar.

Andrews: New Orleans, which has played on Christmas Day only three times and hasn't made an appearance since 2015.

Bontemps: Probably the Raptors. Toronto deserves to make the slate after winning its first NBA championship, but given Kawhi's departure, it wouldn't have been a shock for the Raptors to have been left off. Still, it's good to see the NBA reward Toronto for its title with the opportunity to play -- and host -- a game on Christmas Day. It is something fans of the franchise have wanted to happen for years, and now they'll get their wish.

Which team is the most surprising exclusion?

Andrews: The Knicks will not play on Christmas Day for the first time since 2015, but that isn't the most surprising New York team not scheduled to play on Dec. 25. Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets will not be spreading Christmas cheer -- at least not in the form of a game. I expect Kevin Durant's return to also mark the return of the Christmas Day Nets the following season.

Marks: Utah. I get that the Pelicans have the market appeal based on the Zion factor and Golden State has Stephen Curry, but excluding the Jazz does not add up. The Jazz played on Christmas last December with an inferior roster. They've made significant additions with Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic, plus they already have Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, yet they still missed the cut.

Pelton: Brooklyn. Even with KD on the sidelines, I would have guessed the combination of adding Kyrie Irving and being the marquee team in the Big Apple would have gotten the Nets on the Christmas schedule.

Bontemps: I'll cheat a bit and say two teams -- the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. Yes, Kevin Durant is injured, but it felt like Celtics-Nets -- with Kyrie Irving making his return to Boston for the first time -- was the kind of juicy game that would be saved for the Christmas Day slate. Instead, they were left out completely. And while the Knicks are all but certain to be among the NBA's worst teams, that hasn't stopped the league from force-feeding them to the viewing public. It's good to see that the league is avoiding simply having big markets play on its marquee day.

Will the Lakers or Clippers have a better record on Christmas Day?

Pelton: I'll put money on the Clippers. They've got more existing infrastructure in place with five of the seven players who saw at least 70 minutes of action in last year's first-round series still on the roster, plus longtime head coach Doc Rivers. Given that, I think the integration of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard will go more smoothly than the Lakers trying to build chemistry from scratch under new coach Frank Vogel.

Bontemps: The Clippers. Yes, working in Leonard and George will take time, but the Clippers are starting the season ahead of the Lakers. Plus, it isn't like the Lakers don't have a host of things to sort out themselves (including figuring out who, exactly, is going to play defense). This will be a fun game, but I expect the Clippers to have the better record when these teams square off.

Marks: The Clippers. Even with Paul George likely missing parts of training camp as he nurses a torn left labrum, the addition of Leonard and the continuity factor with the rest of the roster give the Clippers the edge.

Andrews: I'm taking the Clippers as well.

What is your bold Christmas Day prediction?

Marks: That the team representing the Western Conference in the Finals -- the Utah Jazz -- will be sitting at home.

Andrews: If Giannis signs the supermax next summer, Milwaukee will be hosting in 2020 and he will be playing on Christmas Day for at least the next five years.

Pelton: Peace on Earth seems way too bold at this point, so I'll settle for New Orleans having a better record than at least one other team in action.

Bontemps: That the next time the NBA won't have a Christmas Day featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo will be in the 2030s. Yes, I know that's a long way from now and leaves open plenty of time for an injury to change things. But given that Antetokounmpo seems poised to rule the NBA for the foreseeable future, my belief is he will be a featured guest on television sets around the world on Christmas for the next decade, at least.